Therapy
by Arallute
Summary: Two years after the end of the Galactic Civil War, Leia confronts one of the demons haunting her since Cloud City. This story references an Imperial officer whom we saw briefly on Cloud City; he was the man holding Leia back while she warned Luke about the trap he was about to enter. This story is rated M for the references to murder and torture.
1. Chapter 1

Therapy (6 ABY)

The captured Imperials stood in a ragged row, their expressions dour, defiant, or just resigned. A lieutenant called out to them, "Gentlemen, you have been captured as prisoners of war by the New Republic. In accordance with our principles, you now have two choices: you may renounce your allegiance to the Empire and swear loyalty to the Republic, or else accept internment as a prisoner of war until such time that an exchange can be arranged. If you maintain your fidelity to the Empire, be assured that you will not be prosecuted for taking a direct part in hostilities. Your detention is not a form of punishment, but only aims to prevent further participation in the conflict…."

As the lieutenant went on with the prepared remarks, Han Solo looked at his best friend and smiled tiredly. "Long day, huh, kid?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, but I think that's the last of them. We can probably announce that Planet Korgia's allegiance is now officially with the Republic."

"Well, that can wait 'til tomorrow. Can we get something to eat now? 'Cause I'm starving."

Luke grinned. "I'm with you on that. Let's just-" He cut himself off and looked sharply over Han's shoulder. "Leia?" he called.

Leia was staring at the row of Imperials. Han followed her unblinking gaze to one officer in particular: middle-aged, blond, straight-backed, with humorless eyes staring right back at the princess. The Imp gave her a slow lascivious smile. _What the hell?_ Han thought. It occurred to him that he knew this guy. From…someplace.

He felt Luke tense up as Leia abruptly started walking towards the officer. She stopped a meter away. "Open your mouth," she commanded without preamble.

The Imperial tilted his head and smirked. "No way."

Leia drew her blaster, pushed its barrel into his mouth, and fired. Blew his head off.

"Leia!" Luke screamed, horrified. The other captured Imperials recoiled from her. So much for the speech about POWs being fairly treated by the New Republic, Han thought grimly. And suddenly he had it: Sheckil! That's who that is. Was.

Leia holstered her blaster, pivoted, and walked numbly into the governor's home, which had been appropriated as New Republic headquarters. Han stayed outside and helped drag Sheckil's corpse out of view before going in search of Leia.


	2. Chapter 2

Han entered the sitting room of the governor's mansion, where Leia was getting dressed down by half the room. The lieutenant in charge of the POWs, the Korgian governor, the protocol secretary, and her own brother were taking turns castigating his princess. And she just stood there, taking it. Han frowned; that wasn't like her. He locked eyes with her. She looked miserable. Probably time to step in.

He addressed the closest person. "Hey, what's your rank?"

The officer straightened his spine. "I'm a lieutenant. Sir."

"Great," Han said, "I'm a general. And she"—indicating Leia—"outranks us both. So why don't you show a little respect to the Minister of State. As for those POWs, just go tell them that the executed man was a war criminal and a murderer. If _they_ aren't war criminals, they've got nothing to worry about. And if they complain we're being too hard on them, they can just sit and wait for a prisoner exchange. I'd rather get our own people back, anyway."

"But sir!" he said shrilly, sounding annoyingly like Threepio. "We have laws governing the treatment of prisoners. They're complaining…"

"Tell 'em to shut up," Han snapped. "They lost the war." The Lieutenant retreated in a huff.

The governor stepped forward. "General Solo, that is _not_ how we do things on Korgia."

Han rolled his eyes. "He was a war criminal," he repeated. "And you know, we're still treating these guys better than the Imperials would treat us."

Luke joined in. "Governor, that's not how we in the New Republic do things, either." Han threw him a warning look. Luke ignored it and plowed on anyway. "The Minister will apologize to you for her actions." He looked pointedly at his sister. Her face remained impassive.

"You should be formally reprimanded!" the governor chided. The protocol secretary nodded in agreement. "Or even arrested. You just killed a defenseless man in cold blood."

Han saw an opening. "Right. Minister Organa, I'm placing you in protective custody. Please come with me." Taking her arm, he led her down the hallway, away from that pack of vornskrs, to a wood-paneled study filled with neat rows of books. A maid was dusting.

"Out, now, please, thank you," Han told her. The maid smiled at him alluringly before leaving. Han locked the door, sat down in one of the plush armchairs and pulled Leia onto his lap. She buried her head in his neck and sobbed as his arms encircled her.


	3. Chapter 3

Leia cried for a few minutes before speaking. Han just held her and breathed into her hair. "You know who that was?" she sniffled.

"Yeah."

"Are you mad at me?"

He brought his hands to her face and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Of course not," he whispered, kissing her eyes, her cheeks, her mouth. "Of course not. I get it."

"Luke is so mad," she said brokenly. "He told me he'd never seen me act like a Sith until today. But he meant I was acting like…you know. _Him_. I can't even face my brother right now."

Han shifted in the armchair to envelope her in his embrace. "So, don't. You just deal with the politicians, do the diplomacy stuff, and I'll handle Luke." He looked down at her. "You okay now?"

Leia smoothed out her hair and straightened her dress, trying for some measure of aristocratic bearing. She blew out a breath. "Sure."

Luke stood right outside the study, blue eyes stormy. "How could you do that?" he demanded of Leia as she opened the door. She avoided his gaze.

"Hey, buddy," Han interjected, "why don't we go find that dinner you promised me, and leave Leia to handle the politicians?"

Luke didn't want to be distracted. "Leia, talk to me."

She finally looked at him. "I knew him, Luke. It's a long story, though, and I need to go apologize to the governor now. But...this isn't…we've all killed Imperials before."

"Not like this. Not without reason."

Han draped an arm around Luke and steered him towards the exit. "You get me some food, I'll explain the reason, okay?"

"I lost my appetite," Luke sulked, "when I saw a man get his face blown off."

"Let it go, Luke," Han warned him. Really, she'd had enough of this. To Leia, he said gently, "See you later, sweetheart." He was trying to sound casual, but inside he was just hoping she could keep it together. She just needed to remember how good a politician she could be, and turn that charm of hers on the governor.


	4. Chapter 4

Luke and Han sat on a bench in the city park, eating crispy strips of meat out of paper bags. Street fare, but not too bad. They sipped bottles of the local lager. It was dusk now, and the park was quiet.

"A few years ago, after we left Hoth," Han began, "Leia, Chewie and me ended up on Cloud City. Vader ambushed us there."

Luke interrupted quietly. "Can we talk about what happened today?"

"Well, as Leia said, it's a long story. And it began on Cloud City." Luke nodded assent, and Han continued. "Leia provoked Vader, and he decided to…well, torture her by torturing me, I guess." He paused. "I'm sorry, Luke, I know it's hard for you to hear this stuff about him."

"It's okay."

"Well, so, he put me in a room with a scan grid, the kind used for mining, and he electrocuted me. For a long time. Vader was standing next to me the whole time, but he didn't interrogate me. Not a single question. Maybe he figured I was too stubborn to talk to him, I don't know. The idea was that Leia would hear me screaming, and _she_ would talk. Kinda stupid, that, since we both know she's even more stubborn than me. But anyway, they put her in a room next to mine, with a big one-way mirror, and made her watch her father torture her lover."

At this, Han paused again, and sipped some beer. Luke downed half of his bottle. "I'm so sorry," he said.

Han shook his head. "Stop apologizing for your father. You always do that."

"I know," Luke murmured.

Han went on. "So Leia was in this room with some stormtroopers and an Imperial officer who kept asking her questions—you know, where the fleet was, how many ships, where the next base was gonna be. Well, of course, she didn't talk. She just insulted him and, I don't know, probably gave him a good tongue lashing, like only she can. And this guy, this Lieutenant Sheckil, he got madder and madder. So he slapped her around a little, and got even madder 'cause she didn't react. So he…so he…had the stormtroopers hold her down while he, um…." Han trailed off. "He raped her."

Both men stared at the ground for a while.

"That guy today, that was Sheckil. It wasn't murder, Luke—it was justice."

"Revenge."

"Therapy. Post-traumatic physical therapy. Please, Luke, let it go. It won't happen again. And never _,_ _ever_ compare her to Vader; you have no idea how deeply that hurts her. And scares her."

"Okay," Luke acquiesced. He added quietly, "I might've killed him myself."

Han snorted. "You'd have to stand in line, buddy. I didn't recognize him at first, which is why I didn't go after him. But if I'd done it, it sure as hell wouldn't have been that quick. It's just as well that it was Leia. One more nightmare that she can put behind her."


End file.
